Intuition: A Meaning Making Process Based on Feelings - Maybe cultivated through sports?: A theoretical analysis of the process of intuition and a perspectival discussion of how to cultivate intuition – maybe through sports?

Bisgaard, Christian Højen

4. term

Psychology, Master

2021

2021-05-27

79 pages

The aim of this theoretical thesis is to investigate what constitutes intuition and further discuss if intuition could be cultivated and if so, how. In order to do this, I have conducted a theoretical review and analysis of the development of the notion of intuition in the literature and what the prevalent underlying understandings of intuition are. Throughout this analysis, I have found that the prevailing understandings of intuition is largely influenced by prominent cognitivists investigating intuitive decision making under uncertainty. Thus, the heritage from the cognitive revolution is seen as governing modern day understandings of what constitutes intuition. Especially, the notions of bounded rationality and satisficing are seen as core elements of understanding intuition. However, these has hitherto prominently been approach cognitively. Following my discussion of the insufficiencies of conceptualizing intuition merely as a cognitive ability to be evaluated following the outcome of an action according to a predefined norm, I try to go beyond a cognitive understanding of intuition by implementing the notion of semiotic mediation. Through a semiotic mediational approach, I propose that in order to capture intuition as an inevitable process inherent in human meaning making, we need to see intuition as a feeling based process guiding our meaning making – both under pressure and in everyday life. For this reason, intuition is understood as being constituted by a pleromatic perceived feeling into the encountered situation guided by our hypergeneralized sign fields being made available in the current situation. Yet, these hypergeneralized sign fields are seen as being in a constant and reciprocal dynamic interaction with our schematic and pleromatic perception of the situations encountered and new hypergeneralized sign fields emerge through abductive leaps. From this analysis and discussion of a semiotic mediational approach to intuition I conclude that intuition is necessarily a dynamic and inevitable idiographic process true to your reality. Lastly, I perspectivally discuss my experiences from being a badminton coach both in Denmark and in townships in South Africa and from a pilot study preceding this thesis and from this discussion I conclude that if we move beyond merely relying upon abductive generalization in the semiotic mediational approach we might understand the opportunities of cultivating our, clients’ or players’ intuition intentionally and inductively. This suggestion of an inductive generalization pathway is largely founded upon the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-inspired RICA-model (Register, Identify, Control/Accept, ACT) emerging through my pilot study at a Danish boarding school. Thus, following my theoretical discussion upon what constitutes intuition and if it could be cultivated, this thesis suggests that intuition is an inevitable idiographic process based on pleromatic feeling in to the situation and might be cultivated inductively and intentionally – maybe through sports.

Intuition ; Hypergeneralisering ; Semiotisk mediation ; Meaning making ; Process-orientation ; RICA

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